Top Five Questions Leading to the Trade Deadline

 

The MLB Trade Deadline is quickly approaching. MLB General Managers have been working the phones for the last few weeks now and will continue to do just that in earnest over the remaining eight days leading up to August 1st. 

Throughout the last few weeks, there have been ongoing conversations between General Managers regarding which players may or may not be available, potential returns for those players, and proposals that have been made. However, going into play today, there is still a lot of uncertainty throughout the entire market as there are still 21 teams that sit within six games of a playoff spot.

Among all of that uncertainty are plenty of questions that still exist. Here are five of the biggest questions for all 30 teams. 

1. What will ultimately happen with Shohei Ohtani? 

Easily the biggest question over the next eight days revolves around the biggest star in all of baseball Shohei Ohtani. The Los Angeles Angels still have not definitively come out and said whether or not they will be trading the superstar before next Tuesday. Rather, the Angels remain in listening mode according to various reports. Heading into play today, the Angels sit four games back of the third American League Wild Card spot and feel as though they have a shot to compete internally. With that being said, Baseball Reference currently gives Los Angeles a 9.6% chance of making the postseason. 

If Ohtani is indeed dealt away, the return for the superstar is still unknown. Ohtani is only under control through the remainder of this season so he would be a two-month rental for the acquiring team. Regardless, the Angels should remain open to trading the 29-year old, replenishing their farm system with a nice haul of big league ready or close to big league ready prospects, and attempting to resign Ohtani in free agency this offseason. 

2. What will the teams on the bubble ultimately end up doing? 

There are a handful of teams that remain on the bubble and that will create some interesting conversation leading up to next Tuesday. Those teams include the: New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres in the National League. Over in the American League, the teams on the bubble consist of the: Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Guardians, and the aforementioned Los Angeles Angels. As things stand right now, none of those eight teams currently occupy a playoff spot yet all of them sit at least six games out of a postseason berth. 

For the New York Mets and San Diego Padres, the decision to buy, sell or hold will be intriguing as both teams currently have two of the three largest payrolls in all of baseball. Meanwhile, the Cubs have a 6-4 record over their last 10 games, Boston currently sits two games out of the third American League Wild Card spot, and although they had an eight-game losing streak heading into yesterday, the Miami Marlins feel as though they can be competitive this season. With injuries to the starting rotation, the Cleveland Guardians need to attempt to bolster their offense and the same holds true for the Seattle Mariners who can use their current pitching surplus to add a bat or two. 

3. How will the starting pitching market pan out? 

Around baseball, there are several teams that are looking to address their pitching staffs in the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers. Going into play today, the Orioles currently have a two-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. Furthermore, the Cincinnati Reds sit a half-a-game back of the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central, the Arizona Diamondbacks are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have the second bast record in the National League. 

While impressive, the Dodgers want to bolster their starting rotation which currently has a 4.68 ERA, the sixth lowest ERA in the National League. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks starting rotation has allowed the third most earned runs (279) and the Reds have the second-worst starting rotation ERA (5.62) in the National League. Therefore, the urgency to bolster the rotation is certainly there for all three teams and the Orioles want to add some veteran presence to their young starting pitching group. For all four of these teams, the primary focus will be conversations involving the likes of Marcus Stroman of the aforementioned Chicago Cubs (assuming he's available), Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty of the St. Louis Cardinals, Michael Lorenzen of the Detroit Tigers, and Lucas Giolito as well as Lance Lynn of the Chicago White Sox. There may be a handful of other names available within the marketplace on the starting pitching market that aren't being reported yet as well. 

4. For teams that need offense, who will be the biggest names to target? 

For teams that are in need of offense, the biggest question will be who some potential offensive upgrades are. In the last article on here, the focus was on the top five biggest offensive players that could be traded before August 1st. The biggest name on the list was third baseman Jeimer Candelario of the Washington Nationals. Depending on whether they buy, sell or hold the Chicago Cubs have an intriguing offensive player available in first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger. Earlier this morning, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that the Cincinnati Reds are willing to listen to trade offers involving second baseman Jonathan India in exchange of young, controllable pitching. India could be a great fit for a team such as the Miami Marlins who have a surplus of young starting pitching.

So far within this article, both the Cleveland Guardians and Seattle Mariners were identified as teams that have a need to add offense. Additionally, the Minnesota Twins remain open to adding a right-handed bat, the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay rays could both use an offensive upgrade, and the aforementioned Boston Red Sox would like to add a left-handed middle infielder. Besides the names mentioned in the last article, other potential offensive pieces available could be: first baseman C.J. Cron and outfielder Jurickson Profar of the Colorado Rockies, first baseman/outfielder Seth Brown and designated hitter Tyler Soderstrom of the Oakland Athletics as well as outfielder Lane Thomas and designated hitter Joey Meneses of the Washington Nationals. 

5. Who will be the biggest name traded before August 1st? 

Besides Shohei Ohtani, the biggest question remains who will be the biggest name traded at this year's Trade Deadline? Whether or not Ohtani is moved remains to be seen. However, every year there are always moves that are made which are a surprise to the media and fans alike. This year should be no different because ultimately when you have 30 General Managers conversing with each other over phone, text or email, there are hundreds of ideas that are bounced back and forth. Ultimately, some of those ideas lead to surprise blockbusters which always make the headlines in July. 

This year, the biggest names moved could come from the Midwest with the St. Louis Cardinals who have two offensive superstars in first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and third baseman Nolan Arenado. The Cardinals have stated that they have their eyes on being competitive in 2024 and both Goldschmidt as well as Arenado figure to be a part of that equation, but if the right return is proposed to St. Louis, which is centered around providing the organization with impactful pitching, there is a possibility either could be moved. Outside of Goldschmidt and Arenado, the biggest names moved could come on the starting pitching front in either Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox, Mitch Keller of the Pittsburgh Pirates or Justin Steele of the Chicago Cubs.